A clinical study on temporomandibular joint ankylosis

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis results from trauma, infection and inadequate surgical treatment of the condylary area. Many techniques for treatment have been described so far. However, none of them gave uniformly successful results. A limited range of intrinsical opening due to relapse, loss of vertical height of the affected ramus, foreign body reactions and reankylosis are expected complications. However, wide bone resection, the use of interpositional spacer, insensitive and aggressive physiotherapy immediately after the operation are the basic principles as agreed by many authors. In this article, a review of the historical background of the treatment has been discussed.

A clinical and retrospective evaluation of 42 patients treated for this disorder showed that 89% of all patients had unilaterally and 11% had bilateral ankylosis. From the viewpoint of the techniques we used, patients fell into three groups. In two groups, two different type of spacers were used, and in the third group gap arthroplasty were performed for the treatment of TMJ ankylosis.

Our results revealed a predominance of traumatic aetiology. The highest incidence was between the ages of 11 and 20. A total of 45.24% of the patients were treated by interpositional arthroplasty by using acrylic spacer, 11.90% of the patients by sylastic sheet used as an interpositional material and the rest of the cases (42.86%) were treated only by gap arthroplasty.

The advantages of the spherical acrylic spacer and gap arthroplasty were discussed. The advantages of the techniques are, shorter operating time, and more importantly its very low cost.